Chewable pouch for flavored product delivery

ABSTRACT

Provided is a disintegrable or non-disintegrable oral flavor delivery product. The product includes a disintegrable or non-disintegrable chewable pouch with a plurality of perforations. The pouch encloses a non-tobacco flavor product that can be in a gel, semi-liquid, and/or liquid form. A user chews, sucks, and/or manipulates the pouch to cause the enclosed flavor product to leach out of the perforations into the user&#39;s mouth.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.provisional Application No. 60/929,029, filed on Jun. 8, 2007, theentire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

SUMMARY

Provided herein is an oral flavor delivery product. In a preferredembodiment, the oral flavor delivery product includes a chewable pouchhaving a plurality of perforations. Preferably, the chewable pouch isfilled with a non-tobacco, flavor product. In an embodiment, thechewable pouch provides functional ingredients.

In a preferred embodiment, the oral flavor delivery product is placed inthe mouth between the cheek and teeth. A user orally manipulates thepouch by chewing and sucking to release the flavor product through theperforations in the pouch to the user.

In an embodiment, the chewable pouch is a disintegrable and/ordissolvable chewable pouch. Preferably, if the pouch is disintegrableand/or dissolvable, the pouch has multiple layers, each having the sameand/or different flavor and/or dissolution rate. Preferably, thedisintegrable and/or dissolvable pouch is made of gelatin and/orcarrageenan. After the enclosed non-tobacco flavor product has beenconsumed, the pouch is digested.

In another embodiment, the chewable pouch is a non-disintegrable and/ornon-dissolvable chewable pouch. Preferably, the pouch is made of latex,silicone, plastic, rubber, and combinations thereof. After the enclosednon-tobacco, flavor product has been consumed; the chewable pouch isremoved from the mouth and discarded.

Preferably, the chewable pouch material includes flavorants. In apreferred embodiment, the chewable pouch material is also impregnatedwith coffee and other botanical material such as teas, spices, and/orherbs.

Preferably, the non-tobacco flavor product is a liquid, a semi-liquid ora gel material. In an embodiment, the non-tobacco flavor productincludes active ingredients selected from the group consisting ofvitamins, nutrients, medicines, functional ingredients and combinationsthereof.

Also provided is a method of making an oral flavor delivery pouch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a chewable pouch including a plurality ofperforations.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an oral flavordelivery product.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an oral flavordelivery product including a chewable pouch impregnated with flavorants.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a dissolvableand/or disintegrable oral flavor delivery product including a chewablepouch with a plurality of layers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described herein, a chewable pouch product provides a pleasurableoral sensorial experience coupled with mouth activity and controlledrelease of the enclosed flavor product.

FIG. 1 illustrates a chewable pouch product 10. In a preferredembodiment, the chewable pouch product 10 includes a chewable pouch 12with at least one perforation 14 formed therein. Preferably, anon-tobacco flavor product 16 (shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) is enclosed inthe chewable pouch 12. When a user chews, sucks, and/or otherwisemanipulates the pouch 12 the at least one perforation opens to releasethe enclosed non-tobacco flavor product.

Preferably, the chewable pouch product 10 weighs about 0.5 g to about5.0 g. Of that weight, about 5% to about 50% is the weight of thechewable pouch 12. Preferably, about 50% to about 95% of the flavordelivery product weight is the weight of the enclosed flavor product 16(shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4).

Also preferably, the chewable pouch product 10 is about 0.25 inches toabout 2.0 inches in width, about 0.25 inches to about 2.0 inches inlength, and about 0.25 inches to about 2.0 inches thick. Mostpreferably, the chewable pouch product 10 fits completely inside theuser's mouth. Preferably, the chewable pouch product 10 fits discreetlywithin the user's mouth, and more preferably between the cheek andteeth.

Preferably, the chewable pouch product 10 is molded or formed in a shapeselected from the group consisting of any shape selected from the groupconsisting of polygons, squares, rectangles, circles, ovals, heart,star, half-moon, crescent, pillow, leaf shapes, and combinationsthereof. In a preferred embodiment, the chosen shape does not have sharpedges that may be uncomfortable to the user. In an embodiment, the shapeof the chewable pouch product 10 indicates the flavor and/or functionalingredients contained therein. For example, a tea leaf shaped chewablepouch can contain teas and/or tea extracts.

In an embodiment, the chewable pouch 12 is made of a non-dissolvableand/or non-disintegrable pouch material. Once the enclosed flavorproduct 16 is consumed the pouch is discarded. Preferably, thenon-dissolvable and/or non-disintegrable pouch is made of a food gradematerial selected from silicone, latex, rubber, plastic, andcombinations thereof. Preferably, the chewable pouch 12 is anelastomeric material that is capable of deforming and reverting to itsoriginal configuration.

Preferably, the non-dissolvable and/or non-disintegrable chewable pouch12 includes at least one perforation 14 through which the non-tobaccoflavor product 16 exits the chewable pouch product 10 when in use.Preferably, the chewable pouch 12 is designed to selectively release theenclosed non-tobacco flavor product 16. The at least one perforation 14does not open or allow the non-tobacco flavor product 16 to exit thechewable pouch 12 unless the chewable pouch 12 is deformed by chewing,sucking, or otherwise manipulating the pouch 12, causing theperforations to flex and open. Once the user has stopped chewing,sucking, and/or manipulating the elastomeric chewable pouch 12, the atleast one perforation 14 closes by contracting to prevent thenon-tobacco flavor product 16 from escaping the chewable pouch 12 viathe at least one perforation 14.

In a preferred embodiment, the non-dissolvable and/or non-disintegrablepouch includes flavorants so that the pouch and the flavor product bothprovide flavor to the user.

In another embodiment, the chewable pouch 12 is a dissolvable and/ordisintegrable pouch that can be chewed and swallowed after the innerflavor product 16 is consumed. Preferably, the dissolvable and/ordisintegrable pouch is made of a material selected from the groupconsisting of gelatin, carrageenan, alginate, starch, food gradecasings, such as meat casings, and combinations thereof.

Preferably, the perforations of both the dissolvable and non-dissolvablepouches are formed so that the enclosed flavor product is only releasedwhen the pouch is chewed or manipulated orally so that the perforationsflex to allow the product to exit. Preferably there are about 1 to about10,000 perforations in each chewable pouch. The size and amount of theperforations can be altered to control the rate of release of theenclosed flavor product. The perforations can be molded therein or theperforations can be formed by a pin wheel during the manufacturingprocess.

The perforations can be formed in any shape including circles, squares,rectangles, ovals and the like. In an embodiment, the perforations canbe piercings, such as pin holes or slits in the chewable pouch material.

In a preferred embodiment, the chewable pouch 10, as illustrated in FIG.2, encloses a non-tobacco, flavor product 16.

Preferably, the non-tobacco flavor product 16 can include liquids, gels,semi-liquids, beads, capsules, and/or microcapsules. Preferably, theliquids, gels, and/or semi-liquids are at least somewhat viscous. It ispreferred that the non-tobacco flavor product 16 is not so watery as toleak out of the perforations, and not so hard as to be difficult tosqueeze out of the perforations when the chewable pouch 12 is beingchewed or sucked.

The non-tobacco flavor product 16 can include berry flavorants such as,without limitation, pomegranate, acai, raspberry, blueberry, strawberry,and/or cranberry. Other suitable flavorants include, without limitation,any natural or synthetic flavor or aroma, such as menthol, peppermint,spearmint, bourbon, scotch, whiskey, cognac, hydrangea, lavender,chocolate, licorice, citrus and other fruit flavors, such as apple,peach, pear, cherry, plum, orange and grapefruit, gamma octalactone,vanillin, ethyl vanillin, breath freshener flavors, spice flavors suchas cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, sage, anise, and fennel, methyl salicylate,linalool, jasmine, coffee, bergamot oil, geranium oil, lemon oil, andginger oil.

In an embodiment, the non-tobacco flavor product 16 also includessweeteners. Preferred sweeteners include, without limitation, watersoluble sweeteners such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, andpolysaccharides. For example, sweeteners such as xylose, ribose,sucrose, maltose, fructose, glucose, sucralose and mannose can beincluded.

In an embodiment, the non-tobacco flavor product 16 includes beads,capsules and/or microcapsules that are designed to contain liquid,semi-liquid, and/or gel additives that are released when the beads,capsules, and/or microcapsules rupture due to mechanical action or pHchange. The non-tobacco flavor product 16 can also include powdersand/or solids in addition to a gel, liquid and/or semi-liquid. In anembodiment, the user can control the release of the additives bychoosing when to bite down on the beads, capsules, and/or microcapsules.

Preferably, the additives contained within the beads, capsules, and/ormicrocapsules can include flavorants, chemesthesis agents, antioxidants,vitamins, sweeteners, nutrients, and/or functional ingredients.

In a preferred embodiment, the functional ingredients include soothingagents and/or energizing agents. Suitable soothing agents include,without limitation, chamomile, lavender, jasmine, and the like.Preferably, the energizing ingredients or vitamins include, withoutlimitation, caffeine, taurine, guarana, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and thelike.

Suitable chemesthesis ingredients provide, without limitation, hot,spicy, or cooling flavors such as mint, menthol, cinnamon, pepper, andthe like.

Preferably, each pouch contains non-tobacco flavor product, whichdelivers flavor for about 2 minutes to about 30 minutes. Morepreferably, the non-tobacco flavor delivery of each pouch lasts about 5minutes to about 20 minutes.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in an embodiment, the oral flavor deliveryproduct 10 includes a chewable pouch 12 impregnated with embedded flavormaterials 18. Also preferably, the chewable pouch material is alsoimpregnated with coffee and other botanical material such as teas,spices, and/or herbs. In a preferred embodiment, the flavor of thenon-tobacco flavor product 16 contained in the chewable pouch 12 is thesame flavor as the embedded flavor materials 18 of the chewable pouch12. In another embodiment, the non-tobacco flavor product 16 has adifferent flavor than the embedded flavor materials 18.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, when the chewable pouchis disintegrable and/or dissolvable, the chewable pouch 12 can includeat least two layers 20, 22. Preferably, each layer includes perforations14 that release the enclosed flavor product 16 when the pouch 10 ischewed. In an embodiment, each layer 20, 22 is impregnated with embeddedflavor materials 18. Preferably, the flavor materials 18 are differentin each layer 20, 22 to provide additional layers of flavor to the user.

Each layer can be made of a different dissolvable and/or disintegrablematerial so as to provide different characteristics in each layer.Preferably, the layers are of varying thicknesses so that each dissolvesat different rates in the user's mouth. Also preferably, each layer isabout 0.25 mm to about 3.0 mm thick or about 0.1 mm to about 4.0 mm.

While the foregoing has been described in detail with reference tospecific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in theart that various changes and modifications may be made, and equivalentsthereof employed, without departing from the scope of the claims.

1. A chewable pouch product comprising: a chewable pouch having at leastone perforation therein; and a non-tobacco, flavor product, wherein saidchewable pouch encloses said non-tobacco flavor product and is orallymanipulated to selectively release said non-tobacco flavor productthrough said at least one perforation in said chewable pouch material.2. The chewable pouch product of claim 1, wherein said chewable pouchmaterial is a disintegrable and/or dissolvable chewable pouch material.3. The chewable pouch product of claim 2, wherein said disintegrableand/or dissolvable chewable pouch material is selected from the groupconsisting of gelatin, carrageenan, starch, alginate, food grade casingsincluding meat casings, and combinations thereof.
 4. The chewable pouchproduct of claim 2, wherein said disintegrable and/or dissolvablechewable pouch includes at least two layers sealed together.
 5. Thechewable pouch product of claim 4, wherein said at least two layersinclude different flavorants and/or different embedded flavor materials.6. The chewable pouch product of claim 4, wherein said at least twolayers are made of different materials.
 7. The chewable pouch product ofclaim 4, wherein said at least two layers have the same thickness. 8.The chewable pouch product of claim 4, wherein said at least two layershave different thicknesses.
 9. The chewable pouch product of claim 1,wherein said non-tobacco, flavor product is gel based, semi-liquid,and/or liquid.
 10. The chewable pouch product of claim 1, wherein saidchewable pouch is a non-disintegrable and/or non-dissolvable chewablepouch.
 11. The chewable pouch product of claim 10, wherein saidnon-disintegrable and/or non-dissolvable chewable pouch is a food grade,elastomeric material selected from the group consisting of silicone,plastic, rubber, latex, and combinations thereof.
 12. The chewable pouchproduct of claim 11, wherein said chewable pouch includes embeddedflavor materials.
 13. The chewable pouch product of claim 1, whereinsaid non-tobacco flavor product includes active ingredients selectedfrom the group consisting of vitamins, nutrients, medicines, functionalingredients and combinations thereof.
 14. The chewable pouch product ofclaim 1, wherein said chewable pouch product weights about 0.5 g toabout 5.0 g.
 15. The chewable pouch product of claim 1, wherein saidchewable pouch product is about 0.25 to about 2.0 inches in width, about0.25 to about 2.0 inches in length, and about 0.25 to about 2.0 inchesthick.
 16. The chewable pouch product of claim 1, wherein said chewablepouch is a molded shape selected from the group consisting of: square,rectangle, oval, circle, half moon, crescent, star, trapezoidal,elliptical, and combinations thereof.
 17. A method of forming thechewable pouch product of claim 1 comprising: forming a chewable pouch;filling said chewable pouch with a non-tobacco, flavor product; andsealing said chewable pouch to form a chewable pouch product.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, further including perforating material forming saidchewable pouch prior to the forming step.
 19. The method of claim 17,wherein said chewable pouch is formed by folding a layer of perforatedelastic material.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein said chewablepouch is formed of an elastomeric material and wherein said chewablepouch is sealed by a method selected from the group consisting of heatsealing, application of a food grade adhesive, and combinations thereof.